Chapter 44

After chatting for a while with the regulars at Old Chaer’s coffee stall, Leon, who had almost become the son-in-law of a mega-rich man, eventually trudged off to work, hands in his pockets against the biting chill of late autumn.

We can only say that adapting from luxury to frugality is tough—not just mentally, but even physically.

The old Leon would have been up early on even the coldest winter days when frost made faces turn blue, eagerly looking for work. The chill of late autumn would have been nothing more than a minor inconvenience to him.

But after getting used to that warm little tent filled with sweet scents, not being able to sit by the fire and warm himself made him shiver uncontrollably as he jogged all the way until he reached the building of the Clearing Bureau, where he finally stopped to catch his breath.

“Good job, good job! You’re full of energy~”

From the window of the first-floor office of the Bureau Director, the woman with red hair, holding a cup of hot water, saw Leon jogging to work. She pushed open the half-closed window, leaned her rather curvaceous upper body lightly on the windowsill, smiled warmly, and waved to Leon, asking with twinkling eyes:

“Little Liang~ how’s the investigation at the Water Power Corporation going? Did you find anything ‘abnormal’?”

“…”

Though he knew she was teasing him and wasn’t asking if he had found an anomalous item but rather whether he had obtained evidence of the Water Power Corporation’s misconduct,

thinking about the blond middle-aged man from the Lane Family who had come into contact with the heart of the Black Goat made Leon involuntarily pause momentarily.

“Hmm?”

The red-haired Bureau Director quickly picked up on Leon’s brief hesitation. Her smile faded slightly as she asked somewhat surprisedly:

“Did you really find traces of an anomalous item at the Water Power Corporation?”

“…”

You guessed it… But although there was an anomalous item over there, it wasn’t the cause of the mass illness; instead, it was one of the seven lost parts of the Black Goat after its big explosion.

Now, the Black Goat may be down now, but it was once a great demon. And I’m just a rookie employee—would the Clearing Bureau really allow me to keep two dangerous demonic anomalies at the same time?

“Hmmm???”

Once again catching Leon’s fleeting hesitation, the red-haired Bureau Director didn’t just lose her smile but even unconsciously narrowed her eyes.

“You’re hesitating about reporting this to me? So this anomaly is somewhat special? And useful to you? If reported, you might not get approval to keep it? Hmm… let me think… Wasn’t the anomaly you found at the Water Power Corporation one of the other parts that dead goat lost back then?”

“…”

No… I haven’t even said a word yet!

Looking at the red-haired woman who had guessed the truth almost perfectly based on just two less-than-a-second hesitations, Leon couldn’t help but fall silent for the third time.

This is outrageous… does she have some sort of mind-reading anomaly? “Don’t worry, I don’t have mind-reading powers.”

Oh, so you don’t have mind-reading powers, huh? Then why can you hear everything I’m thinking? And you still say you don’t have mind-reading powers?!

Seeing Leon outside the window, clearly startled, with eyes full of caution, the red-haired Bureau Director couldn’t help but smile faintly.

“I’m not lying, I really don’t have mind-reading powers.”

After placing the still steaming cup on the windowsill, she propped her cheek with her hand and explained with a smile:

“In the past, I often played hide-and-seek with infiltrators hidden among ordinary people, so I’ve gotten used to judging others based on their expressions and behavior. And you happen to be the type whose emotions are written all over your face, so it was just a coincidence that I guessed right a few times.”

“…”

I believe you as much as I believe in ghosts! Leon truly didn’t believe a single word of the explanation given by the red-haired Bureau Director.

Although I’m not particularly deep-thinking, I usually don’t show my feelings openly. The neighbors in Veteran’s Lane have always thought of me as someone who speaks little and shows little emotion. How could I be guessed correctly so many times? She must be fooling me! “Really, I’m not lying to you. Your expressions may not be abundant, but your eyes are overflowing with thoughts~”

Looking at Leon, whose mind was racing but was still trying to maintain a straight face, the corner of the red-haired Bureau Director’s mouth curled slightly before she pointed her finger toward Leon’s eyes remotely.

Glancing down at her slightly opened collar due to leaning forward, the red-haired Bureau Director covered the exposed white skin, then lazily stood up, stretching her arms, smiling as she beckoned Leon with her fingers.

“Come to my office, we’ll have a good chat.”

“…”

…

“Ah, I see… The heart of that dead goat is actually in the Lane family.”

After having a literal good chat with Leon and listening to his discoveries at the Water Power Corporation, the red-haired Bureau Director nodded understandingly and immediately assigned Leon a new task without hesitation.

“Something of this level cannot be left unchecked. It’s best to try sneaking in to investigate. As for the reason…”

Looking at Leon’s face, the red-haired Bureau Director’s eyes lit up, and she suggested with a smile:

“How about searching for relatives?”

“Searching for relatives?”

“One hundred percent, searching for relatives! Since you also share the surname Lane, isn’t this the perfect excuse?”

Facing the astonished Leon, the red-haired Bureau Director smiled brightly and said:

“As long as you show up with the Clearing Bureau credentials and say you suspect you also have Lane family blood, with your bright future as an assistant-level public servant at sixteen or seventeen years old, even the famous Lionheart Duke’s house won’t turn you away.”

“But my hair isn’t blond…”

“Aww, isn’t that simple? Just dye it!”

“But I was planning to report them…”

“Reporting is one thing, recognizing relatives is another! They don’t conflict!”

“…”

“If you really don’t want to go, I can give you another task.”

Seeing Leon seemed reluctant to accept, the red-haired Bureau Director, who rarely found amusement, immediately put on a serious face, took out a stack of mission documents from the desk drawer, and spread them out on the table one by one.

“The Pauline Mountain Forest has been experiencing bloody rain for two weeks, nearly a thousand animals died of thirst near the water source.”

“A five-meter tall giant beast appeared at Adolph Manor, causing extensive damage to the farm and injuring multiple people.”

“Numerous ships have sunk at the offshore port of Leon County, possibly attacked by large sea folk tribes.”

“The coal field in the Hun River Valley collapsed on a large scale, suspected to be hollowed out by tens of thousands of sand worms.”

“These are the missions you might be able to complete for now. Choose one!”

“…”

Strange bloody rain, five-meter tall beasts, sea folk living underwater, sand worms capable of hollowing out mountains…

After smacking his lips speechlessly, Leon reluctantly “volunteered” and said:

“Then I’ll go recognize relatives…”

(The chapter ends here)